President Obama has struggled over his last two terms to balance praise of European explorers on Columbus Day with the hardships they inflicted on indigenous tribes.
On this Columbus Day holiday, the president’s annual proclamation marking the federal holiday acknowledges the contributions of European explorers and the bravery of Christopher Columbus’ crew. But it also seeks acknowledgement of the pain and devastation they inflicted on the tribes they encountered in the new world.
“Previously unseen disease, devastation and violence were introduced to their lives — and as we pay tribute to the ways in which Columbus pursued ambitious goals — we also recognize the suffering inflicted upon Native Americans and we recommit to strengthening tribal sovereignty and maintaining our strong ties,” reads the president’s Columbus Day proclamation.
“Though these early travels expanded the realm of European exploration, to many they also marked a time that forever changed the world for the indigenous peoples of North America.”
The inclusion of such remarks, acknowledging the suffering of indigenous people, wasn’t always so apparent in Obama’s first term. But it has become an increasing part of the annual Columbus Day proclamation during his second term.
Obama seems to take pains not to come out against the holiday. The proclamation heaps a large amount of praise on Columbus and the heritage he represents for Italian Americans and other Europeans who defied skeptics to discover a new world, even though it was by accident.
“Though his first of four voyages across the Atlantic did not end at his desired destination of Asia, Columbus’s adventure reflected the insatiable thirst for exploration that continues to drive us as a people,” Obama says.
“Columbus’s legacy is embodied in the spirit of our nation,” he says. “Determined and curious, the young explorer persevered after having been doubted by many of his potential patrons.”
After laying out the contribution of European explorers to the nation’s identity, he then uses a paragraph and a half to underscore the suffering of Native Americans that began during the era of exploration. This year’s proclamation said the holiday should be used to “recommit” the nation “to strengthening tribal sovereignty and maintaining our strong ties.”
In previous years, the “recommit” language was not included. Instead, the proclamation favored language acknowledging the “shameful” suffering inflicted on the tribes and the “marred” history of Columbus’ journey.
A look back at Obama’s Columbus Day proclamations:
In 2014, the language, although still praising of Columbus, says that history was “marred.” It read: “In a new world, a history was written. It tells the story of an idea — that all women and men are created equal — and a people’s struggle to fulfill it. And it is a history shared by Native Americans, one marred with long and shameful chapters of violence, disease, and deprivation.”
In 2013, he talks about maintaining strong “nation-to-nation relationships” with Native American tribes, “as we celebrate the bold legacy of Christopher Columbus.” The president explains, “we also pay tribute to the honorable yet arduous history of Native Americans.”
In 2010, there was no mention of American Indians. Instead, it sought to shine the light on the suffering of immigrants in other countries and the role of America in becoming a refuge.
Going back to 2009, the Columbus Day proclamation includes suffering of native peoples, but seeks to emphasize unity over disparities. It says European immigrants “joined many thriving indigenous communities,” who then “suffered great hardships as a result of the changes to the land they inhabited.”
It goes on to say that although “their competing ways of life were initially at odds, over time, the ‘New World’ became a culturally and ethnically diverseplace where we now enjoy the free exchange of ideas and democratic self-governance.
“Tribal communities continue to strengthen our ntion through their rich heritage and unique identity.”
